Improvement in wood-bending machinery



'S. R. BAILEY. Wow-1am:mmzariacmnm nr.

No,170,981. Patented Dec. 14, 1875.

N PE ERS, PHOTO-LITNOGRAPHER, WASMNGTON. o C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL B. BAILEY, OF BOSTON, ASSIGNOR TO EDWARD A. GILLETT, OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS, AND OSCAR S. GILLETT, OF BUFFALO, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN WOOD-BENDING MACHINERV.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 170,981, dated December14, 1875; application filed ,,August 24, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL B. BAILEY, of Boston, Suffolk county,Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements .in Wood- BendingMachinery, of which the followingis a specification My presentimprovements relate to means for bending wood, whereby I am enabled, inan expeditious and ready manner, to obtain a reverse or double bendwithout injury to the wood.

The drawings accompanying this specification represent, in Figure 1, afront elevation, and in Fig. 2 a plan, of a machine embodying myimprovements. Fig. 3 is a section of the shaping-forms andconfining-straps prior to bending the wood.

In these drawings the frame of the machine is shown as composed of twoupright standards or housings, A B, united by proper horizontal bracesO. The front standard A is pierced with a central orifice, D, in whichis disposed a circular disk, E, this disk being revolved by means of aspur-gear, F, afifixed to its rear side, which gear engages and isdriven by a pinion, G, whiclnin turn, is mounted up on a horizontalshaft, H, revolvingin bearings formed in the standards A B, the outerend of this shaft being provided with a drivingpulley. To the front faceof the standard A, and upon opposite sides of the semi-rotary disk orcarriage E, I affix two posts or stops, a a, while to the adjacent faceof the carriage E I affix, in an adjustable manner, two abutments, I I,whose inner faces are, preferably, segments of a circle, and sodisposed, with respect to each other, as to constitute in common areverse or ogee curve, a sufficient space existing between them to admitof the introduction of the strip of wood to be bent, as well as themetallic clasps which inclose and protect the latter. The stops at beingstationary, and the abutmentsI revolving or moving in the arc of acircle, by and with the carriage E, it follows that a strip of woodintroduced between the abutments, and with its ends resting against thestops, will, necessarily, be

' bent into a reverse or ogee curve, which is the form into whichshafts, poles, and other articles are frequently bent.

In the operation of bending strips of wood heretofore, a metallic plateor strap has been applied to each side of the strip, and confined at itsends thereto. When an attempt has been made to produce a double orreverse curve, one end of each strap necessarily becomes doubled orcrippled, unless its extremity is released, in which latter event itspressure or hold upon the wood is lost, and the latteris fractured orsplit. In fact, very much difficulty has been experienced in bendingwood to such a shape, and it may be said that prior to my presentimprovements it has not been done, practically, at one operation withstrips of any size.

In order to bend a strip of wood to an ogee or irregular form, and, atthe same time, protect the entire sides of the strip by a metallicstrap, which shall remain uniformly smooth and effective during theentire operation, I make use of two sets of bending-formers, which meetat the center of movement of the two abutments, and abut against eachother, end to end, and are confined one to each abutment by suitablemeans, so that any slip is rendered impossible. The formers are shown inthe drawings as composed each of a metallic block, 01, whose inner faceis convex, and of such a curvature as the bend is to assume, a'ledgebeing created upon the edge of the block to prevent lateral misplacementof the wood in the operation of bending. Each block d is provided withan elastic strap, 6, of suitable metal, such strap constituting acontinuation of the curved bending-face of the block, and one of saidstraps terminating in a hook, f, for purposes hereafter stated.

In proceeding to bend a strip of wood, it is first steamed to therequisite degree, and then inclosed between the two clasps, as shown inFig. 3 of the drawings, in which case the outer end of such strip willbe seen abutting against the base of the hook f, and the inner ends ofthe blocks d abutting against each other, the outer end of the strap,which is next the body of the strip of wood, being confined to thelatter by a clamp, on. The clasps, with the wood inclosed between them,are now applied to the machine by being placed between the abutments, towhich they are confined, one to each, by a dovetailed joint, 9. Thecarriage E is now revolved in the direction of its arrow until thehooked block f brings up against one stop, a, and the strap of theopposite clasp abuts againstthe opposite stop, and the rotation of thecarriage is continued until the strip of wood and the elastic strapshave been bent together about the curved edges of the blocks d. As theseblocks, with the Wood adhering to them, are to be removed from themachine, and remain with the Wood confined between them until the latteris set, it remains to provide a means of confining the clasps in such aposition. To accomplish this I form upon one block, 01, two ears, 6 i,and Ivaffix to the adjacent elastic strap a stop, j, and insert betweenthe two a key, 70, while upon the outer extremity of the opposite blockd I form a furcated nose, I, between which and the hook f I driveforcibly a key or wedge, m. The carriage E is now to be rotated in areverse direction, and returned to its original position, and the twoclasps, with the wood adhering, are to he removed and placed in asuitable locality until the wood is set or dry.

It will be apparent that each clasp or strap is free to follow themovements of the carriage E without being crippled or relaxing itspressure upon the wood, and, consequently,

not allowed to separate or slip to any inju- I rious extent. I claim-,-

the following elements, namely: two moving or rotary curvedshaping-blocks, abutting end to end, and arranged so that theirshapingsurfaces shall form a continuation one of the other; flexiblebinding-straps, one for each former, and clamping devices, which confinethe straps and the inclosed wood about the formers when the wood isbent, said combination being vfor operation as set forth.

3. In combination with the abutments I, the forming-blocks attachedthereto by a dovetailed connection, substantially as and for thepurposes .set forth.

4., In combination with the former 01, pro- .vided with the furcatednose I, the hook f and key m, whereby the outer end of the wood andtheflexible strap are confined to said former.

5. The combination of the forming or shaping blocks d, carried by thecarriage E, with the abutments I and stops a, substantially as and forpurposes stated.

SAMUEL R. BAILEY.

Witnesses:

FRED. CURTIS, W. E. BOARDMAN.

